VA Sox Fan

We got it the first two posts. It is very clear how you feel. Others are enjoying the WBC.

Good one. I'm not as sharp as you bro! I try not to stoop to his elementary school level with the personal/infantile insults.

BTW, JBJ is from the Richmond VA area. His 23rd b-day is April 19th. What a sweet b-day present that would be to be brought up to The Show!

Aww, come on sbf. I had brains enough to spell his name correctly. Stephen is so lucky to have a concussion or else he and his retired brother would have to suffer your wrath. I just don't wish that on anyone! Not even the "fragile" Drew brothers.

I'm sure Stephen is shaking in his cleats with that threat....

I was wondering the same thing. :dunno:

It wasn't televised. Not sure if a700 was still there. I think he comes home tomorrow. From the Globe: Game report: Red Sox 7, Twins 3 Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 14, 2013 07:31 PM SCORE: Red Sox 7, Twins 3 RECORD: 10-9 BREAKDOWN: The Sox beat up on Twins starter Mike Pelfrey, scoring five runs on six hits and three walks in the first two innings. Mike Napoli had an RBI single in the first inning and Will Middlebrooks a three-run double in the second. Ryan Dempster allowed one run over four innings. Jacoby Ellsbury was 2 for 3 with a double, a walk, and one RBI. THUMBS UP: Dempster has had a terrific spring. In four starts he has allowed three earned runs over 12.2 innings. The righthander has walked two and struck out nine. Dempster threw 73 pitches. “He used all his pitches. Last time out he pitched primarily with his fastball, which was by design,” manager John Farrell said. “But today he took the whole repertoire to the mound.” THUMBS DOWN: David Ross was 0 for 2 with a walk and is now 1 for 14 with six strikeouts this spring. Ross has been spending extra time working with the pitchers and said that typically in spring training his bat does not heat up until the final 10 days or so. MEDICAL REPORT: The Red Sox sent lefthanded reliever Franklin Morales back to Boston to have his sore lower back examined. “He has been undergoing treatment here. He hasn’t really made the progress that we had hoped for. So we had him checked,” Farrell said. Morales has thrown only one inning and seems sure to start the season on the disabled list. … Dustin Pedroia played despite a head cold. He was 0 for 3 with a walk and probably should have stayed in bed. AROUND THE BASES: Koji Uehara loaded the bases in the fifth inning and worked out of the jam by getting the dangerous Justin Morneau to pop up. The runners were the first he has allowed this spring. “Blame the mound,” he joked. … Closer Joel Hanrahan returned to the team following the birth of his first child in Boston earlier this week. He threw a bullpen session on Thursday and is scheduled to pitch an inning on Saturday. … Jackie Bradley Jr. showed off his arm in the eighth inning. With the bases loaded, he caught a fly ball and made a strong throw to third, nearly catching Jeff Clement, who had bluffed toward home after tagging up. NEXT GAME: The Red Sox have a split-squad doubleheader on Friday. One team will go to Sarasota to face the Orioles at 1:05 p.m. Clayton Mortensen will start that game. The Sox host the Twins at 7:05 p.m. with Felix Doubront on the mound. That game will be on NESN and WEEI.

That's not true at all: Former Red Sox Manager Terry Francona Takes Blame for Team’s Late Season Collapse By Danny Groner October 6, 2011 2:00 PM Former Boston Red Sox manager Terry Francona spoke with Boston sports radio station WEEI on Wednesday, his first public comments since he parted ways with the team last week. Francona, who guided the Red Sox to World Series victories in 2004 and 2007, said that after the team’s historic late-season skid he chose to leave. Francona was adamant that he didn’t want to point fingers for his departure, although he did acknowledge that the team opted not to pick up his 2012 option. He was also open when it came to discussing the team’s 7-20 finish that resulted in the Red Sox missing the playoffs after being nine games up in the wild card standings in the beginning of September: “It was my responsibility to not let what happened happen. So regardless of how ownership feels or regardless of how [general manager] Theo (Epstein) feels or how the fans feel, I had a responsibility to get something done and it didn’t get done.” As for Francona’s future, he said that, “If I go on to manage again somewhere else I probably do need to make some changes.” After all, there’s an open position with the White Sox. Or maybe Francona is better suited for a transition to the booth. He will be a part of the FOX team for Games 1 and 2 of the ALCS this weekend.

Yeah, seriously dude. People like what they like. Let it go man......

Red Sox making some cuts today Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 12, 2013 09:01 AM FORT MYERS, Fla. — The Red Sox are thinning out the ranks of their position players today. Outfielders Alex Hassan, Jeremy Hazelbaker and Juan Carlos Linares packed up their lockers and headed for the minor league clubhouse. So did first baseman/outfielder Mark Hamilton. Righthander Steven Wright also was optioned. Also: • Alfredo Aceves will pitch in a minor league game on Wednesday and then start against Tampa Bay on Saturday. • John Lackey will pitch in a minor league game on Saturday rather than face the Rays. As starters work deeper into games in spring training, some try to avoid divisional opponents. • The Sox will start Clayton Mortensen in Sarasota against the Orioles on Friday in the split-squad doubleheader. Alex Wilson, Chris Hernandez and Oscar Villareal will follow. Felix Doubront will start the night game at home against the Twins.

Predicting the Red Sox roster, version 2 Posted by Peter Abraham, Globe Staff March 11, 2013 09:55 AM FORT MYERS, Fla. — Now that there have been some injuries, let's take another look at what the roster may look like on Opening Day. As a refresher, here is what we predicted on Feb. 27. Obviously there have been some developments since. ROTATION (5) LHP Jon Lester RHP Clay Buchholz RHP Ryan Dempster LHP Felix Doubront RHP John Lackey Breakdown: No changes here since the first version. Doubront is back in the rotation and seems to be holding onto his spot despite a shaky start. He is out of minor league options, so the Red Sox can't just cavalierly replace him. Plus he was pretty good last season. BULLPEN (7) RHP Joel Hanrahan RHP Andrew Bailey RHP Junichi Tazawa RHP Koji Uehara LHP Andrew Miller RHP Clayton Mortensen RHP Alfredo Aceces Breakdown: LHPs Craig Breslow (shoulder) and Franklin Morales (back) seem destined for the disabled list. Breslow is a lock at this point as he has yet to throw off a mound. Morales appeared in one game before his back pain started. The final two spots will come down to Mortensen, Aceves and Daniel Bard. Mortensen and Aceves are a bit redundant in that they are multi-inning relievers. But Mortensen has a funky delivery that sets him apart from the rest of the relievers while Aceves has late-game experience. Bard has minor league options, so the Red Sox could drop him down and protect their depth. Uehara, though righthanded, has been death on lefties in his career. So the Sox can survive until Morales and Breslow return. LINEUP (9) CF Jacoby Ellsbury 2B Dustin Pedroia DH Mike Napoli LF Jonny Gomes 3B Will Middlebrooks RF Shane Victorino SS Stephen Drew C Jarrod Saltalamacchia 1B Mike Carp Breakdown: Now that David Ortiz appears headed for the disabled list, a lineup that needs power looks a lot weaker. Carp provides a steady glove at first and could add a little power. Keeping Ryan Lavarnway is another possibility. If the Sox rolled the dice with Jackie Bradley, that would be a surprise. BENCH (4)C David Ross 1B-OF Daniel Nava 2B-SS-3B Pedro Ciriaco RF-CF-LF Ryan Sweeney Breakdown: The loss of Ortiz affects the bench, too. The Sox could keep slugger Mauro Gomez, who is basically a DH because of his below-average defensive skills. Or they could try and stay versatile with Nava and Sweeney. That would allow for Gomes (or even Victorino) to DH on occasion. Lots of possibilities here. What do you think the roster should be? Please leave a comment.

A very big help. I'm looking forward to seeing how our SP does. I, like a lot of us, would be so psyched to have meaningful games in September. Maybe they'll all actually stay healthy this season. Need as many positives that we can get with Papi's uncertain status.

At least Lester pitched well today.

Bradley's tearing it up in today's ST game!

Interesting that he brings your name up in a discussion you weren't a part of. Does the same thing to mvp or any of the many people that disagrees with him on a regular basis.

Pollyanna, pom-pom waving, front office worshiping, rose-colored glasses wearing, clueless ballwashers!!! ALL OF YOU!!! ;) Seriously, you guys pegged the folks you referred too. Perfectly!

Exactly. The Boston media like a lot of posters out here tend to focus on the negative. Papi's done a lot more good for this team than bad. Remember 2004 anyone and all of his walk off wins through out the years?

You wish I was menapausal so you could actually be right about something!!! :lol:

That would explain a lot.

:lol:

So true! :thumbsup: He doesn't have one!

My apologies to yeszir and all the other posters.

:thumbsup:

That's good to know, hope it's the same this season!